Despite the hype, Heavenly Sword doesn't quite cut it as the next God of War. The short length never gives the complex fighting system a chance to sink in, so the combo-driven fighting that should have been at the core of the game is outshined by side missions and cut scenes. But there's no reason to be hating on it when the experience as a whole is so wonderfully strange, in a fantasy setting that's equal parts "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Conan the Barbarian."

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The combat system squeezes what it can out of a two-button control scheme, augmented by shoulder buttons that determine a speed, range or power stance.

But the timing required for many of the moves makes close combat curiously unrewarding compared with long-range attacks. When cannonballs or arrows are fired, the camera tracks each projectile as it hurtles through the air, guided either by six axis-motion controls (use at your own risk) or an analog stick. The only thing more satisfying than firing an arrow into a man's skull is to follow through with a second arrow - this time swerving through a torch so it catches on fire - into the barrel of explosives behind him.

Heavenly Sword's big selling point, though, may be its cut scenes, led by dramatic director Andy Serkis. Best known for playing Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" movies, Serkis is no stranger to motion-captured performances, and so it's no surprise to see his talents shine here. The real surprise is how much the game comes to life each time he appears as villain King Bohan, who pursues the titular cursed sword with the gusto of a demented (and murderous) great uncle. Serkis seems to take advantage of every sensor put on his face, and the result is a gleefully malevolent performance that makes Bohan seem like a real character rather than a plot element.

He's not alone, either, in an utterly bizarre world that includes a nasal-voiced old man who wears a plume of blades on his back like a peacock and a feral, skittering girl who comes across like a brain-damaged Bjork. By comparison, scantily clad heroine Nariko can come across as bland as her swordplay is flashy.

Even so, that doesn't stop Bohan from being as fixated on her as he is her sword, rallying his army by saying they "must destroy that female hell hag, that demi-devil who slithers and sucks her way towards us like a vile serpent twining her slipping coils around our magnificent limbs, waiting, waiting, to sink her slavering jaws into my sacred genitals!"

That's probably more weirdness than any one game deserves. But in a medium where cut scenes are derided as eye candy, Heavenly Sword makes you wish the game was as fun as the storytelling.